Infection control inspection passed with flying colours

Chelsea and Westminster has been given a clean bill of health by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an unannounced inspection in May to assess whether the Trust adequately protects patients, staff and others from infections.

The CQC inspectors said: "We found no evidence that the Trust has breached the regulations to protect patients, staff and others from the risks of acquiring a healthcare associated infection.

"The rates of MRSA bloodstream infections at the Trust from October 2006 to December 2008 are below average for a trust of its type and the infection rate from October to December 2008 is significantly below average.

"Rates of Clostridium difficile from October 2007 to December 2008 have also been below average for a trust of its type."

The CQC's positive verdict on the Trust's infection prevention and control practices and recent track record is supported by MRSA statistics for the 2008/09 financial year which were published in June by the Health Protection Agency.

In 2008/09 Chelsea and Westminster had the lowest rate of MRSA bloodstream infections among acute hospitals in London—excluding specialist hospitals like the Royal Marsden, Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Royal Brompton.

Just five patients contracted an MRSA bloodstream infection last financial year—out of more than 40,000 patients admitted to the hospital—which means that just 1 in 8,000 patients at Chelsea and Westminster contracted MRSA.

Chelsea and Westminster's MRSA rate has reduced by 90% in the last five years:

Congratulations to all staff for their vigilance which has helped make these achievements possible—please keep up the good work.